Athletic Training - Professional Glance

The 1930s and 1940s marked an awakening with regard to the need for an organization
for athletic trainers. The original attempt to establish a national
association for athletic trainers was in 1938, at the Drake Relays
in Des Moines, Iowa. The athletic trainers working with teams
competing at the Drake Relays track meet realized the need for
an organization of individuals to promote the exchange of ideas
and techniques that would be useful in providing athletic training
services to athletes.

Through the originality of thought and
energy of people such as Charles Cramer who sought to establish
such an organization, the NATA was founded in 1939. This early
organization saw the appointment of a president and secretary-treasure
as well as the establishment of a home office for the association
in Iowa City, Iowa. Early on, the NATA published a small, mimeographed
monthly newsletter called the NATA Bulletin. Members received
a copy of the bulletin and were encouraged to write articles
for inclusion in future issues.

The NATA continued until1944, when World
War II caused a great strain on the members of the fledgling
association. The difficult years of the association from the
late 1930s to the mid-1940s saw several accomplishments. The
NATA

established membership classes (1939)

published the Trainers Journal (1941-1942), written for athletic
trainers and coaches

created an insignia and established a certificate (1941)

established regional divisions of athletic trainers (1942)

held national meetings

Although the early organization failed
perhaps due in part to financial and communication difficulties,
it appears that many lessons were learned and later applied
in the creation of what we know as today’s NATA.

Beginning in 1947, more and more schools
were employing athletic trainers in their athletic departments,
giving a renewed focus to the establishment of the NATA. These
athletic trainers often had no formal education to qualify
them for their positions. Many had learned the skills and techniques
from other in the same field and from physicians working with
the sport teams. The new era of the NATA began, and in 1950
the first national meeting was held in Kansas City, Missouri.

The National Athletic Trainers' Association
was founded in 1950 when a core group of about 200 athletic
trainers met in Kansas City to discuss the future. The decade
of the 1950s was one of considerable growth for the NATA. During
the decade, schools began offering undergraduate programs in
athletic training. Outstanding accomplishments of that era
included the following:

The NATA constitution and by-laws were formed (1951)

The official logo of the NATA was adapted (1952)

The NATA Code of Ethics was adopted (1957)

The first program of undergraduate education of athletic trainers
was submitted to and approved by the board of directors (1959)

The 1960s through the 1980s brought continuing growth within
the profession that has molded what our profession is today.
In 1969, the medical profession fully recognized the significance
of the NATA when the AMA acknowledged the importance of the
role of the athletic trainer and commended the NATA for its
role in developing professional standards. Other additional
accomplishments of this era includes the following:

The development in the 1960s lead to the first NATA certification
exam examination (July 1970)

The first graduate athletic training curricula were approved
(1972)

The NATA adopted official initials for designating the certified
athletic trainer (ATC) (1975)

The NATA established continuing education requirements for
all certified athletic trainers (1979)

The National Commission for Health Certifying Agencies granted
membership to the NATA (1982)

The official recognition of athletic training as an allied
health profession by the American Medical Association (AMA)
(1990)

In addition to these important events, the NATA looked to the
AMA’s Committee on Allied Health Education and Accreditation
for evaluation of athletic training curricula. To further
raise the bar, the NATA sought to have all college athletic
training programs attain the status of an academic major
or its equivalent. This tremendous change in academics is
the new generation (21st Century) that the NATA is approaching.

Today, the NATA membership spans the globe
and includes more than 27,000 allied health care professionals.
NATA members can be found in schools, on the sidelines of professional
sports, in hospitals and clinics, and in the industrial setting
as the profession that began with college sports expands to
guard the safety of all people involved in physical activity.